Binary Star

A Novel

"With luminous, lyrical prose, Binary Star is an impassioned account of a young woman struggling with anorexia and her long-distance, alcoholic boyfriend. On a road-trip circumnavigating the United States, they stumble into a book on veganarchism, and believe they've found a direction"--Cover p. [4]

Opinion

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So....I feel terrible that it took me 27 freaking days to finish this book. I was completely drawn to this book ever since I requested my library purchase it, and then once I had it and started reading it....meh.

Let me also point out and truly start this review by saying there is an audience for this story and narrative- I am just not in that audience. I will explain in pros and cons:

PROS
-There is a fantastic display of prose and metaphor. I absolutely, hands-down loved the symbolism behind the destructive, deprecating relationship between the protagonist and her alcoholic boyfriend. They are a binary star system- two stars who rotate around a shared gravity. Here's Google's fancy definition: a system of two stars in which one star revolves around the other or both revolve around a common center.

-This book is a conversation piece for eating disorders.

CON
-Reverberating back to when I said I am not in the audience piece for this book- I lost interest when that pull that comes with loving a book was gone. That gravitational (heh) pull that brings you back to the book to keep reading it. For me, there was nothing for me to learn here more than I already knew about those who suffer from body dysmorphia, eating disorders, anxiety and depression, etc.

Heavy on subject matter and too light on the plot. The stream-of-consciousness writing took some getting used to. Definitely not the literary brilliance some reviews make it out to be.

BklynKalliopiM
Feb 07, 2015

If you're a reader looking for contemporary fiction, debut authors, and books that break the mold READ BINARY STAR. This book is better than a breath of fresh air in what can be a very conformist book market. Not to miss if you're interested in experimental independent literature. Gerard's lyrical style is infectious, powerful, and unique.